Summary

Lots of action for its time, attempted to combine ground and air action with a bit of tunnel running

The Good

Lots of action, lots of things to shoot, Windows compatible (the Microsoft showpiece!) for both Win31 (with Win32s installed) and Win95 (and first version of DirectX!)

The Bad

Tunnel sequences don't make any sense (why are the tunnels there? who uses them?) too much action at times as it gets boring, too much like Terminal Velocity, radar only visible in cockpit mode

The Bottom Line

First came out in 1995, Fury^3 (Fury cubed, or Fury to the third) is the Windows adaptation of the DOS game Terminal Velocity by Terminal Reality Inc. You get a new backstory, but the basic mechanics did not change... Kill a lot of enemy air and ground units, explore a few tunnels, and kill a few bosses along the way.

The game is a showcase of what Windows is capable of, and it supported all the toys then available from Microsoft... From DirectX and DirectPlay (networking) to support for the Microsoft Sidewinder joystick, with support for more than 4 buttons, they are all supported here.

The setup is your typical stuff... The evil Bions are invading and you're the last hope of humanity. Yawn. Of course, once you step into the cockpit all that changes...

The game was full 3D, ahead of its time by a bit, with no help of 3D accelerator! Graphics wise, the terrain is a bit short on polygons but it does its job well enough with the proper textures.The tunnel running sequences are interesting enough the first few times around. Enemies have their special jinks and manuevers if you are chasing them.

The problem is we have seen them all before. The game is virtually identical to Terminal Velocity, with the mechanics the same, and the same tactics will apply. Fly around really fast, save your shields, and so on.

Even the bosses aren't that difficult, when you figured out that there are shield generators you must first destroy around their "base" before you can take them on.

If you need some mindles blasting action with minimal thinking except for reflexes, you should enjoy Fury^3. Otherwise, you may want to try the sequel, Hellbender.